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Tuesday, 17 May 2016

96. 25m Pistol

Event: 25m Pistol Date: 14th May 2016 Location: Jersey Shooting Club Cost: £23 each. Rules: The first qualifying stage is the Precision Stage, where athletes shoot six series of five shots each, with a maximum of five minutes to fire each series. Fired at a precision target - 50mm diameter. The second qualifying stage is the Rapid Fire Stage, where athletes shoot six series of five shots, with three seconds to fire each shot, and a seven second break between each series. The rapid fire target has a 100mm diameter.Scores from each round are combined, and the eight best shooters advance to the final. In the final, athletes shoot four series of five shots with a three second limit for each shot.

The Event:

Results:

Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: 591 - Kim Jang-Mi, South Korea.

Ellie: 258

Sarah: 374

Comments: Sarah: After our postponed trip in November, we were so happy to finally make it over to Jersey and meet the lovely team at Jersey Shooting Club. We started with a thorough introduction and safety talk about handling the pistol. We both feel quite nervous for the shooting events, so it was good to run over this again. After the talk and some cuddles with Mr Magnum the cat, we made our way out on to the first range to warm up on the 12.5m targets. With practice and good pointers, we progressed to the 25m range and took a while to get used to the new distance...the targets felt so much further away, definitely reflected in our aim. We gradually found our feet and practiced both the Precision and the Rapid elements of the event. I found I was more accurate at the Rapid fire, I think as I didn't have time to over-think my aim before the target turned away between shots. We then launched in to the actual event; the Precision and Rapid rounds using the same Olympic timings and rules. Between series, Derek used the wand to count our shots and Nikki recorded the scores. I was much more accurate in this discipline than I have been in any of the other shooting events, and chuffed with my end score. We had such a great day with the club, who couldn't have been more accommodating or helpful! Ellie: This has been one of the most highly anticipated events of the whole challenge. As the type of pistol used in this event is banned in mainland Britain we contacted UK shooting for some advice, thinking we'd need to go far, far away, and they put us in contact with the lovely Nikki at Jersey Shooting. The whole team were happy to help from the start of our conversations and we booked to visit in November 2015 but a giant storm cancelled our ferry crossing. Thankfully the May weather was very pleasant and we finally made it to the club. It was wonderful to spend the day with the club and I felt so welcome.The shooting events are always hard for me as they are so out of my comfort zone and I am very aware of the responsibility of handling guns. I do enjoy the routine of loading, adjusting my stance, aiming and firing though and it is really satisfying to make a good shot. Luck was not with me today and I couldn't get the hang of the rapid shoot especially. However, the club were full of praise and encouragement and we received lovely medals.

Massive thanks to Nikki, Derek, Peter and the whole team at Jersey Shooting Club! And also to Mr Magnum, the big, beautiful cat!